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Authentic Ancient Metal Plates

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Since the recent events surrounding the seeming forgery of the Jordan Lead Codices, I thought it would be good to bring back to mind the authentic discoveries made within the last century of ancient writings on metal plates. There are literally hundreds of examples of such plates all around the world. I’m indebted to William Hamblin and John Tvedtnes for there scholarship on these findings.

Of course, in Joseph Smith’s day, such discoveries had not been made yet, and so Joseph was mocked for his story of having discovered gold plates with the writings of ancient people inscribed on them.

Today it is becoming commonplace to find such ancient texts, which is why in the dozens of media reports on the emergence of the lead plates this past week, not one questioned the fact that the writings were on metal. In fact, one scholar specifically noted that there were examples of ancient metal tablets made out of copper, bronze, and gold.

Here is a summary of only some of the most prominent findings.

Etruscan Gold Book, dating to 600 BC (click to enlarge)

Etruscan Gold Book

This is believed to be the oldest complete multiple page book found in the world. It is made of six plates of gold, each 5 x 4.5 cm, and bound with two rings. It dates to 600 BC.

It was unearthed from a tomb some 60-70 years ago, along the Strouma River in southwestern Bulgaria. It was donated to the Bulgarian National Museum of History in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2003. The plates contain text in Etruscan characters, and was likely a type of prayer book made for the funeral of an aristocrat.

This discovery is especially interesting to Latter-day Saints because the date places it at the same time as when Lehi and his family left Jerusalem, indicating that this form of bookmaking and bookbinding was practiced in the Mediterranean region at the time. It is similar to the description that Joseph Smith gave of the gold plates of the Book of Mormon.

Pyrgi Gold Tablets

This set of three gold plates was discovered in 1964 in an excavation of a sanctuary in ancient Pyrgi, in Italy. They contain holes around their edges, which indicates that they were likely bound together in some form at one point.

The plates date to 500 BC, and contain a dedication by King Thefarie Velianas to the Phoenician goddess Astarte. Two have Etruscan text, and the third has Phoenician.

William Hamblin notes that these plates are:

…a prime example of the spread of the Phoenician practice of writing sacred texts on golden plates from their original center in Phoenicia, via Carthage, to Italy, and is roughly contemporary with the Book of Mormon’s claim that sacred texts were written on metal plates by the Phoenicians’ closer neighbors, the Jews.

The Pyrgi Tablets are now at the National Etruscan Museum in Rome, Italy.

Copper Scroll

Perhaps the most famous example of ancient writing on metal plates is the Copper Scroll, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in Qumran by an archeologist in 1952. Its Hebrew text was inscribed on two rolls of coppper, and dates to 50-100 AD.

Because it was found in rolls, and the metal was corroded, it had to be cut apart into 23 strips to be read. Both rolls were part of the same document. The text, interestingly, describes the locations of hidden temple treasures from the Second Temple of Jerusalem. In other words, it’s a kind of treasure map.

William Hamblin notes its similarity to the plates of the Book of Mormon:

…it is a clear example of an attempt to preserve an important sacred record by writing on copper/bronze (Heb. nechushah) plates and then hiding the document.

Unfortunately, no hidden temple treasures have yet been discovered by reading the text.

Korean Diamond-Cutter Sutra Gold Plates

This is a set of nineteen gold plates that was found in December, 1965, buried under a five-storied pagoda in Iksan, Korea. Each plate measures 14.8 x 13.7 cm and was found inside a bronze box inside a stone box. The plates are hinged together, and have two gold bands that wrap around the plates. They date to the 8th century AD.

The plates contain the text of the Diamond-Cutter Sutra. A Maxwell Institute publication by David Honey and Michael Lyon describe it:

The text opens with a group of monks who circumambulate the living Buddha three times and then sit down to listen to his teachings… He warns of a future period called the “Latter Days of the Law” when the oral transmission will have decayed. He prophesies that there will be at least some enlightened beings who will understand and teach his true doctrine. He then promises that the country that preserves and teaches this sutra will have to be honored and worshiped by the worlds of gods, men, and evil spirits. It will become like a chaitya, or temple. It is apparent that this promise was the motivation for Korean Buddhists to inscribe the sutra on gold plates and preserve it under a pagoda.

The plates are part of National Treasure No. 123, and located at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul.

Silver Scrolls

Discovered in 1979, these scrolls were found inside one of a series of burial caves called Ketef Hinnom in a hillside just west of Jerusalem. They were two small silver scrolls, about 1″ x 4″ in size, and much care was taken over a three year period to unroll them to read them. They had archaic Hebrew text on them. They determined that the scrolls date to approximately 600 BC, very near the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.

Amazingly, the scrolls contain the oldest surviving citations of the Hebrew Bible, in addition to the oldest surviving reference to Yahweh (Jehovah or LORD). The text comes from primarily Numbers 6:24–26, which is a priesthood blessing (or ordinance) the Lord instructed Moses to teach Aaron to give to the Israelites.

This shows that the Jerusalem people of Lehi’s time did, indeed, write sacred texts on metal, and provides evidence that the first five books of Moses existed at the time Lehi left Jerusalem, which would have been required if the brass plates were to contain them (1 Nephi 5:11).

Another interesting note is that these scrolls were meant to be rolled up and likely worn around the neck, serving as an amulet, to “provide a blessing that will be used to protect the wearer from some manner of evil forces.”

Darius I Persepolis Gold Plates

These plates were found by archeologists in 1938, in Persepolis, near modern day Shiraz, Iran. There were two gold plates and two silver plates in a stone box, written on in cuneiform script. The plates date to 518 – 515 BC.

The text found on each of the plates was the same:

“Darius the great king, king of kings, king of countries, son of Hystaspes, an Achaemenid. King Darius says: This is the kingdom which I hold, from the Sacae who are beyond Sogdia to Nubia, and from Sind to Lydia – [this is] what Ahuramazda, the greatest of gods, bestowed upon me. May Ahuramazda protect me and my royal house!”

Petelia tablet, one of the Orphic Gold Plates, dating to fourth century BC (click to enlarge)

Orphic Gold Tablets or Plates

This is a remarkable set of about 35 small pieces of gold foil that have been found in ancient tombs across Greece and Rome. They are inscribed in Greek text, and most date to the fourth century BC.

The text on these plates gives instructions to the dead on how to navigate the afterlife, especially what they should say or do on their journey there. As David Larsen describes them:

… [they] give specific instructions for what the initiate is to do during their journey into the Afterlife, including meeting a number of guardians and gods who will ask them questions and to whom they must give certain passwords.

David Larsen has provided an amazing LDS perspective on these in a series of articles at his blog, HeavenlyAscents.com:

Questionable Findings

Achaemenid Golden Codex

In October 2005, police in Tehran, Iran, recovered several artifacts that had been sold to smugglers by a farmer who had found them while plowing a field. One of these artifacts was a book made of eight plates of gold, and bound with four rings on one side.

The codex is inscribed with cuneiform script, which was a commonly used in the ancient Near East. It is believed to be from the Achaemenid period, because of its codex format, which would date it to sometime between 550 BC and 330 BC. Again, dated to shortly after the time period of Lehi and his family, and in the Middle East.

The current whereabouts of this artifact are unknown to me and those I’ve asked. Instead of continuing to chase the Jordan Lead Codices down a dead-end road, it might be more productive for the media to help find this codex, and determine its authenticity and meaning.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many examples of modern day archeological discoveries of ancient writing on metal plates, and I only mention a few. These were unknown in Joseph Smith’s time, yet many attest to the fact that writing on metal plates was a practice during Lehi’s day in and around Jerusalem.

Great job Bryce, I’ve been wanting to put together a resource for these findings all in one place and you’ve done it already! Thanks for the great research. I think it’s important to remember that the claim by a 23 year old farm boy that records on metal (brass) plates existed in Jerusalem around 600 B.C. is a modern historical fact.

We get excited when there are new discoveries that lend support to what we already know is true. I think with each one of these discoveries we understand a little more perhaps what the original plates might have looked like.

Thanks J. Max and Steve. I was amazed by the volume of such finds that have been made in the last century. There are literally hundreds of examples of writing on metal plates, and these are only a few. I had no idea there were so many!

See also H. Curtis Wright, “Ancient Burials of Metal Documents in Stone Boxes,” in By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley, edited by John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks. SLC and Provo, Utah: Deseret Book Company and FARMS, 1990, Vol. 2, pp. 273-334.

The Book of Mormon contains some scripture and old testament stories from the Bible. Since the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth, the keystone of the Mormon religion and one can be closer to God by abiding in it’s precepts than any other book, would the Book of Mormon be considered an addendum to the Bible?

I am studying Gold Plates right now and was wondering of all the plates that you list here, is there away to find out how thick they were on average and what the other base metals were?
Joseph Smith plates if Pure gold would wiegh 212 lbs. I believe they were Tumbaga about 8 karat and he only show the eight witnesses 1/3 of the plates. not all the plates. “showed to us the plates the said Smith had trnaslated”. The plates he carried through the woods were about 37 lbs. All the paltes if tumbaga would be about 117lbs. Thankyou for a reply if possible.

We know the dimensions of the plates but we don’t know how many “pages” there were. We know they were almost as thick as common tin, (“engraven on plates which had the appearance of gold, each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long and not quite so thick as common tin…. The volume was something near six inches in thickness….”(Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons, v3:9, March 1, 1842, 707.)) so we should be able to research the thickness of common tin at the time and relate that to the dimension of the plates to determine approximate page number. The plates were slightly thinner than tin and collectively about five to six inches thick.

In other words, they were probably not a solid “block” but had air-filled gaps throughout which would make for fewer “plates” than you might first assume. This would lead to an altogether lighter Book of Mormon. I suppose you would have to look at the language as well. The Nephite’s version of Egyptian characters was more concise than Hebrew and was probably more abstract. “Mormon 9:33 And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record.”

Moroni views the plates as not being “large” and we don’t really have any reference to draw any solid conclusions from. However, he fears that the record may have imperfections because it was recorded in something less accurate than Hebrew. Reformed Egyptian might have been some kind of extreme shorthand that would allow for recording a large amount of information into a small space.

We know the dimension of the plates, but we don’t know the number of pages. Were there 10 pages? 50? I wonder if anyone has conducted any kind of experiment with this. Then there are the alloy theories…

Your assessment of the Book of Mormon as “contains some scripture and old testament stories from the Bible” isn’t very accurate, but in an attempt to address the spirit of your question, it would be incorrect to label the Book of Mormon as an “addendum” in my opinion.

The Bible is not one record, but a series of records compiled into a collection. The Book of Mormon is an abridgment of a collection of records. In both the Bible and Book of Mormon, prophets and even the Savior quote from prior prophets. In the Book of Mormon, we have several chapters of Isaiah recorded and another account of the Sermon on the Mount. These are quoted for specific reasons that are too detailed to go into here in this short comment.

The Bible and the Book of Mormon, respectively, claim to contain various accounts of writings, history and witnesses of God’s dealings with mankind in different locations and circumstances. Upon immediate examination we simply see two books and try to understand how they relate to one another. When you research each you find a much more complex scenario described within the text of each that deserves investigation if at least to understand each record more fully.

Thanks Steve for the comment, I have found out that common tin was really starting to be used in 1820 in The United States, that is probably why Joseph Smith used the comparison, that tin was .15 of an inch or 15/1000th of an inch. 20% less thickness would be 12/1000th of an inch.(writeable on plates i believe) Mormon would have used as little in thickness as possible its only logical, weight ,durability etc. He may have considered this since his nation was under assult at the time as well.
If the book were pure Gold there would have been a crush factor over 1,600 yrs.
Are you familiar with the stroy of Joseph running witht he plates?

Steve, unfortunately this is common mistaken belief about the LDS Church. We believe in a gospel of grace and works, as taught by the early Christian apostles, including James (James 2). We must not only believe in God, but do what He has commanded us to do. Otherwise our faith is dead, and profits us nothing.

@Steve, your misinterpretation of LDS teachings is what contradicts the Book of Mormon and the Bible. Reducing the tenants of a faith down to “a gospel of works” displays little knowledge of what Latter-day Saints believe. Broad-brushed misinterpretations do nothing to help the conversation.

It is true that Latter-day Saints seek to keep the commandments because Jesus Christ taught that if we love him we will keep his commandments. We love Christ so that is one of the things we do to show our love to him. As far as the matter of salvation is concerned, I’ve never been taught, nor do I believe that “works” will “get” me into heaven without Jesus Christ.

Take, for example, a very small sampling of quotes from the Book of Mormon which contradict your claims:

“And now, ought ye not to tremble and repent of your sins, and remember that only in and through Christ ye can be saved?” – Mosiah 16:13

“..these things are true, and as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can be saved.” – 2 Nephi 25:20

“remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world.” – Helaman 5:9

“reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.” – 2 Nephi 10:24

“I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness.” – Alma 38:9

“And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.” – Mosiah 3:17

“And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; ths being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.” – Alma 34:15

“For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.” – Mosiah 3:18

“There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.” – Mosiah 5:8

“Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.” – Alma 26:35

“And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope.” – Moroni 10:21

“…for this cause, that men might be saved, hath repentance been declared” – Helaman 12:22

“…no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.” – Alma 5:21

“For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name” – Moroni 7:38

“…the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ” – Mosiah 4:3

“I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become subjects to the devil?” – Alma 5:20

“Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved.” – Helaman 12:23

“Now, the decrees of God are unalterable; therefore, the way is prepared that whosoever will may walk therein and be saved.” – Alma 41:8

“And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.” – 3 Nephi 27:6

“Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved.” – 2 Nephi 2:9

“For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved.” – 1 Nephi 6:4

“Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” – 3 Nephi 12:20

“Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.” – 3 Nephi 9:22

“…believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do…and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.” – 2 Nephi 25:23,25

“…there could not any man be saved except it were through the redemption of God.” – Mosiah 13:32

“surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved.” – Alma 32:13

“I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.” – Omni 1:26

“Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God.” – 2 Nephi 25:13

“…this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God.” – 2 Nephi 31:21

“O God, … I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day.” – Alma 22:18

“And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God.” – Moroni 7:26

“nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who surely shall come into the world, and shall suffer many things and shall be slain for his people.” – Helaman 13:6

“…the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.” – 1 Nephi 13:40

“…after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save. Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.” – 2 Nephi 31:19,20

“And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish.” – 2 Nephi 11:6

“Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin.” – 3 Nephi 9:21

“Yea, even he commanded them that they should preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord, who had redeemed his people.” – Mosiah 18:20

“And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?” – 2 Nephi 31:10

“He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.” – 2 Nephi 26:24

“…there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and sufferings of Christ, and the atonement of his blood.” – Alma 21:9

“And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection…” – Mormon 9:13

“…he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.” – Alma 12:15

“Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.” – 2 Nephi 2:8

“And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon” – 2 Nephi 2:26

“For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.” – Mosiah 3:12

“And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name;” – Mosiah 3:9

“And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish…” – Mosiah 13:28

Wow, so much to read! “For just as the body without the Spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:26).
What is the Spirit? What is faith and where does it come from?
What is biblical repentance?

Haha, sorry Steve, I tend to be a little long-winded even when I’m typing. I pulled those from an article I wrote on the subject and I probably just should have posted a link.

If you’ll allow me to explain the verse in James, I think the principles become quite clear. The reason “faith without works is dead” is because faith IS works. Faith is the action of belief. To believe is to simply or strongly acknowledge something affirmatively. Faith requires that you act according to those beliefs. This is the origin of faith.

Faith in Jesus Christ leads to repentance. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we exercise faith in him by repenting of our sins. This is how we come to know Christ. The process is described quite beautifully in two of the last three verses of the Book of Mormon which I’ll quote in case you might not be familiar with them:

32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.
– Moroni 10:32–33

And for what it is worth, Steve, I’m not claiming that I know these things because I believe the words of the Bible or the Book of Mormon, I know them because I know Christ. I sought him through respect and obedience to his commandments and by repenting of my sins and through faith, it happened; I remember the evening. I know the grace of Christ and the pure love of Christ; I found peace, hope, assurance and comfort in his atonement. I know he lives.

Paul truly taught that we are not saved by works, and in this he was referencing the works and deeds of the law of Moses and perhaps by extension any actions that man takes that makes him suppose that his efforts somehow outweigh the atonement of Christ. Paul said that “For by grace are ye saved THROUGH faith”, and once we understand what faith is, we understand how we are saved by grace through it.

Faith is not a light or easy thing for many people. It takes trusting in someone that you initially do not know, but if you begin by obeying his commandments, he will reveal his love and wisdom to you in degrees through that obedience. This obedience grows into trust and blossoms into love and then we find ourselves willing to give up anything that keeps us in the least degree from Christ. We repent, he heals us and we are justified in him.

I’m teaching seminary and was looking for a single location where I could locate these findings so that I could share with my seminary class. Interestingly enough, I stumbled upon your blog and found what I was looking for. Thanks Bryce… It was good to come back to your work 🙂

If the Book of Mormon is the most correct Book ever then prove it and not just by saying it prove it with facts viable facts that can be seen and or read . One more thought after reading this article , all of these metal Books can be still read today they can be studied and are placed in Museums around the world but we are suppose to believe that the plates Smith found were taken by God and yet none of the other plates were taken ? C’mon I was born on a Tuesday but not last Tuesday !

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